Manufacturing and Developing Remote Labs in Physics for Practical Experiments in the University

Abstract

Laboratory experimentation plays a crucial role in scientific education and engineering in higher education. The traditional hands-on labs are the natural scenarios where practical skills can be improved, but, thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), virtual and remote labs can provide a framework where Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines can also be developed. This paper deals particularly with remote access to a real laboratory equipment using contemporary computer and network technology for creating the environment that will enable a remote user to perform the required practical experiments in physics. The main goal of this paper is to build an interactive system to control practical experiments in physics by the students enrolled in the first year of undergraduate program of Physics and Chemistry at the University. The experiment adopted for this work is the simple pendulum manipulation. In this work, we have focused on the design and creation of a prototype to make the equipment of the practical experiments of laboratories accessible to students via the Internet network. In order to eliminate time and space constraints through affording flexibility, protect students while conducting dangerous experiments and reduce the cost and the maintenance of laboratory equipment, which is expensive.